Flash of Genius.

"Bob Kearns had to earn the title 'inventor of the modern windshield wiper' through decades of legal battles that had a destructive effect on his family and health," notes Henry Stewart in the L Magazine. "It's not a simple story to tell, though John Seabrook's 1993 New Yorker profile admirably explored many of its complexities, such as: is Kearns a nut? And, what really constitutes an invention? Flash of Genius, the Hollywood biopic fashioned from Seabrook's same-named piece, all but abandons that nuance and complexity for an easily digestible tale of the underdog vindicated."

"What little tension exists in Flash of Genius stems not from its ho-hum narrative, but from its attempts to fashion a heartwarming tale from a true-life story that, in many respects, wasn't all that heartwarming," notes Nick Schager in Slant.

Updated through 10/3.

"It's no wonder the film ends not with life-affirming sunlight but a torrential downpour: for an underdog story, it's kind of depressing." Louis Peitzman in the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

"Greg Kinnear, usually kinetic, is unusually (and unbearably) dull in producer turned director Marc Abraham's telling of Kearns's years-long fight to regain his good name, even as Ford finally offers millions to get him to scram," writes Robert Wilonsky in the Voice.

"For all his recent success, Kinnear has yet to be pushed outside his comfort zone," writes Neil Morris in the Independent Weekly. "Flash of Genius presents his best chance to date to do so, but it, like the film itself, turns out to be a squandered opportunity."

Updates, 10/3: "Picture Jimmy Stewart as a passionately outraged everyman speaking truth to power, then take away the passion," suggests Stephen Holden in the New York Times.

For the passion, then, we turn to Roger Ebert:

I am sick and tired of giant corporations running roughshod over decent people - cutting their wages, polluting their work environment, denying them health care, forcing them to work unpaid overtime, busting their unions and other crimes we have never heard George Bush denouncing while he was cutting corporate taxes. I am sure lower taxes help corporations to function more profitably. Why is that considered progress, when many workers live in borderline poverty and executives have pissing contests over who has the biggest stock options?

But enough. I have Flash of Genius to review. Yes, I am agitated. I am writing during days of economic meltdown, after Wall Street raped Main Street while the Bush ideology held it down. Believe me, I could go on like this all day.

"The film is really designed to be Kinnear's showcase, but there are some solid supporting performances as well, not the least of which being the rather ridiculous hairpiece worn by Dermot Mulroney," writes Mark Olsen. "[Lauren] Graham, as Kinnear's wife, with her wry smile and wounded eyes captures the way in which her love never falters but her faith does. Special mention must be made of Alan Alda, who, as he did in The Aviator, is able to turn his image as a sweater-wearing nice-guy on its head." Also in the Los Angeles Times: Reed Johnson profiles the real Bob Kearns.

"First-time director Marc Abraham chooses to give Kearns's story a serious, thinking-viewer gloss, creating a film that's unlikely to provoke cheering or nail-biting," writes Tasha Robinson at the AV Club. "It lets audiences think they might actually be watching history as it happened."

"Kinnear, a generally underappreciated actor, holds the picture together almost by force of will," finds Hank Sartin in Time Out New York.

Joe Leydon talks with Kinnear for the Houston Chronicle.

Posted by dwhudson at October 2, 2008 2:23 PM